Established in 1943, the McKesson Foundation invests in programs and organizations that support the volunteer and philanthropy efforts of our employees and improve the lives of cancer patients and their families.

In FY17, McKesson contributed $2.6 million in cash and merchandise to support a wide variety of charitable organizations in the U.S. and Canada. McKesson also invested $5.1 million in the McKesson Foundation to increase support services to cancer patients in McKesson communities, as well as other philanthropic endeavors.

A Focus on Cancer Support

Helping to create a healthier world is at the heart of all we do at McKesson, including our volunteer and corporate giving programs. We provide opportunities that encourage and support employee community involvement to improve the health of our communities. Our programs are inclusive, allowing for participation by employees at hundreds of McKesson sites as well as those who work from home—from distribution center workers and call center employees to sales representatives and executives.

The efforts of the Foundation and McKesson employees reinforce one another. The Foundation supports cancer patients through the Giving Comfort program, the McKesson Marrow Drive and targeted grantmaking for non-medical, direct services. Employees share their passion, skills and talents through cancer-focused volunteer events.

Our cancer support program is built on these three pillars:

A local presence through our network of Cancer Care Community Partners. The McKesson Foundation has developed a network of Cancer Care Community Partners that includes leading hospitals and medical centers, hospitality houses and cancer support organizations. We continue to strategically expand the network to ensure McKesson locations have a partner within a 30-mile radius, consistent with our focus on supporting the communities where our employees live and work.

Providing care packages through the Giving Comfort program. Launched in 2012, Giving Comfort is a McKesson Foundation program that provides hope and inspiration to cancer patients through free care packages. McKesson employee volunteers create the items in the packages, including handwritten, signed cards that send a message of hope, strength, patience and comfort to patients undergoing cancer treatment. As of the close of FY17, Giving Comfort has reached more than 72,000 patients across the U.S. and Canada.

Grantmaking driven by employees. By participating in our annual Community Days volunteer event and the McKesson in Motion charity step challenge, both described below, employees earn grants for their local Cancer Care Community Partner. The grant amount is tied to the number of employees who register for each event. In FY17, we provided 102 grants through this strategy, which further ties the program to local communities and connects grantmaking with employees’ volunteer efforts.In FY17, the McKesson Foundation donated $750,000 to Cancer Care Community Partners for services such as temporary housing as well as transportation to/from infusion appointments. These needed services often are not covered by health insurance. Research studies have shown that a cancer diagnosis can often push a family into poverty (Fighting Back Against Cancer, HealthcareReform.gov; USA Today/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health National Survey of Households Affected by Cancer).

We continue to be committed to alleviating some of the stress and burden on individuals and families with cancer.

Our employee volunteer and corporate philanthropy programs provide employees with the opportunity to support cancer patients and, in the case of the McKesson Marrow Drive, potentially save a life.

Community Days: Since its beginning in 1998, Community Days has brought employees across the U.S. and Canada together for coordinated group volunteer projects at their worksites—with remote options for field-based employees. In FY17, 19,765 employee volunteers at 180 locations helped build 22,000 care packages during the event. McKesson Foundation grants tied to participation totaled $250,000 for cancer non-profit organizations. The program engages employees at all levels of the company, from executive sponsors through business unit presidents and leaders who champion the program and the Regional Volunteer Chairs (described in the section below) who bring it to life at their locations.

McKesson Marrow Drive: According to the World Marrow Donor Association, more than 50,000 patients search the international registry for a match each year. Only 30% of patients find a marrow donor in their families; the other 70% must hope for a match from a stranger. The odds are particularly challenging for patients of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.For the second consecutive year, the McKesson Foundation partnered with the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation to help grow the bone marrow registry through a U.S.-wide marrow drive. A McKesson Foundation donation to Gift of Life covered the cost of registration and swab-sample processing. Employees joined the international registry during worksite biometric screenings, at events sponsored by employee resource groups and by ordering swabbing kits online. At the end of FY17, the McKesson Marrow Drive had added 2,800 donors to the international bone marrow registry, leading to three matches and one successful marrow transplant. The drive will continue throughout FY18.

McKesson in Motion: A charity step challenge, McKesson in Motion aligns with the Foundation’s employee-driven grantmaking strategy. Each participating employee earns a grant for the Foundation’s Cancer Care Community Partners. A friendly competition among business units promoted additional grants. In FY17, the program’s inaugural year, more than 14,000 employees took 3.8 billion steps, earning $200,000 in grants. Participants also earned points through McKesson’s Vitality wellness program, described in the “Our Employees” section of this report.

Providing additional volunteer opportunities: We work with the Foundation’s Cancer Care Community Partners to identify volunteer opportunities proactively for employees who wish to expand and deepen their community impact by delivering care packages directly to patients.

Regional Volunteer Chairs: Volunteering provides an avenue to build new skills and gain valuable experiences, such as leadership development. At McKesson, 320 employees currently serve as Regional Volunteer Chairs (RVCs). Volunteers themselves, the RVCs support our company-sponsored volunteer programs by leading local events and fostering engagement among employee volunteers. Their involvement is critical to the success of Community Days, the McKesson Marrow Drive and the McKesson in Motion charity step challenge.

Supporting Local and Global Communities

While our company-sponsored volunteer programs reflect our Foundation focus on cancer support, a second, equally important cornerstone of the McKesson Foundation’s philanthropic investment strategy is to build healthier communities by supporting the causes that matter most to our employees.

Volunteer Grants: We provide volunteer grants linked to individual and group volunteer involvement as well as board service, without requiring a personal monetary donation from the employee. In FY17, the McKesson Foundation supported our McKesson volunteers’ gift of time with volunteer grants to 397 non-profit organizations in North America, exceeding $360,500.

Matching Gifts: Through the Matching Gifts program, the McKesson Foundation matches employee donations to qualified non-profit organizations starting at $10 up to a $2,500 fiscal year maximum. During FY17, the number of employees taking advantage of matching gifts increased more than 20% and the total volume of grants matched was more than $1.7 million.

Board Service Grants: The Foundation believes that non-profit board service is an excellent way for employees to develop leadership skills and further develop areas of expertise in HR, IT, governance, finance, legal and marketing, among others. To encourage this volunteer service, employees who serve on the Board of Directors of a qualifying non-profit organization are eligible for an annual grant to the non-profit organization(s) for which they serve. In FY18, this grant will increase from $500 to $1,000 per fiscal year.

Scholarships for Employees’ Children: Each year, the McKesson Foundation Scholarship Program provides college scholarships for the children of permanent, part-time (30+ hours) or full-time McKesson employees based in the U.S. and Canada. In FY17, the Foundation awarded 30 four-year scholarships in the amount of $2,500 per year. Scholarships are awarded based on academic achievement, activities and awards, and a counselor’s recommendation. Household income is also taken into account. Applications are accepted online starting March 15 of each year.

Taking Care of Our Own Fund: Active since 2013, the Taking Care of Our Own Fund offers McKesson employees a way to support colleagues who experience a financial hardship resulting from a sudden, severe, overwhelming and unexpected event, whether a natural disaster or an emergency that results in an inability to take care of basic life necessities. The fund is supported by donations from the McKesson Foundation and McKesson Corporation, as well as from individual employees.

The McKesson Foundation also supports disaster relief by providing a dollar-for-dollar match on employee donations to non-profit organizations and through the volunteer grant program.

Business units throughout McKesson support our communities through philanthropic programs funded by corporate contributions. For example, our U.S. Pharmaceutical business unit provides scholarships for pharmacy students in the amount of $3,000 each, plus a $300 travel stipend. Awarded through the National Community Pharmacists Association Foundation, these scholarships are designated for students with high academic achievement, leadership qualities and a demonstrated interest in independent pharmacy.

Recognizing Outstanding Service to Communities

Through recognition programs, the McKesson Foundation honors exceptional employee efforts that bring our ICARE shared principles to life in our workplaces, as well as the neighborhoods and cities where employees live and work. We proudly recognize our employees’ volunteer achievements through the President's Volunteer Service Awards and our Community Heroes program.

President’s Volunteer Service Award

McKesson is a Certifying Organization for the President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA), issued by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, McKesson grants PVSAs to U.S. employees who have logged more than 100 hours of volunteer service during the fiscal year. In FY17, 138 employees earned the PVSA.

McKesson Community Heroes

Open to McKesson Europe, McKesson Canada and U.S. employees, the 2017 McKesson Community Heroes program recognized outstanding employee efforts at their workplaces and their communities with grants exceeding $40,000 in FY17.

We selected McKesson Community Heroes in three categories:

Better Health for Our Communities: Exemplary efforts for organizations and causes that strengthen our local and global communities and our workplaces.

Employees can either nominate themselves or their peers. Voting panels in Canada, Europe and U.S. select honorable mentions and choose finalists. An international panel selects the winners. The program is highly competitive, with more than twice as many applications as the prior fiscal year.

We are proud to feature the top 2017 Community Heroes in videos that accompany this report:

James LeBrocq, McKesson CanadaBetter Health for Our Communities
James has worked closely with three troubled youths in his town to help them make a commitment to kick substance abuse, locate treatment centers, get an education and find employment so they can lead independent, productive lives.

Kaci Dominguez, U.S. PharmaceuticalBetter Health for Patients
As a volunteer pharmacist at a clinic of Doctors Without Walls — Santa Barbara Street Medicine, Kaci dispenses medications to homeless patients in consultation with the prescriber and helps educate student volunteers.

Irene Furulund, McKesson EuropeBetter Health for Our Planet
As a board member for a project that teaches more productive, sustainable farming techniques to rural farmers in Mozambique, Irene has helped more than 4,000 farmers form cooperatives and increase the yield of their crops.